How to Foster Your Child's Creativity

Fostering Creativity Outside of the Classroom

Ashley Thiem

My name is Ashley Thiem, I am a 4th grade teacher at River Ridge Elementary school. I have started this blog post to show parents resources that they can use outside of the classroom to foster their child’s creativity while at home.

But first, do you think your child is creative? Why? What characteristics do they have that make you think this? Creativity has a different definition for many people however when we say the word, everyone senses a similar feeling. Isn’t that incredible? I would love to hear from others to see what your view on creativity is.

As a teacher for 7 years I have had the pleasure of working with students who have a uniqueness about them when they share their ideas, process of thinking, the way they act and what they build or engineer. There are hundreds of characteristics of creative people, so much in fact that you may not realize your child is creative until you read a few of these. Barbara Clark in “Growing Up Gifted” (p.166) states that “playing pretend encourages characteristics of creativity.” This is fascinating to me because I always thought the majority of children played pretend growing up.

The following is a list found in ” Growing Up Gifted” by Barbara Clark (p.167) that states characteristics of creative people:

• zany sense of humor
• more adventurous
• high in memory, good attention to detail
• more spontaneous
• more self-accepting
• able to resist group pressure
• self-disciplined, independent, often antiauthoritarian
• ability to accept conflict and tension rather than avoiding them
• more curious
• openness to experiences, new ideas
• skilled performance of the traditional arts
• have a richer fantasy life and greater involvement in daydreaming
• are more sensitive are able to withstand being thought of as abnormal or eccentric

Do any of these characteristics describe your child? If so, your child could be a creative individual with a lot of potential that needs to be fostered.  Please use the resources below to find additional information on how you can help nurture your child’s creativity at home:

• https://www.ket.org/education/resources/?fwp_audiences=learner&fwp_per_page=80
• https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/7_ways_to_foster_creativity_in_your_kids
• https://www.scholastic.com/teachers/articles/teaching-content/how-promote-creative-thinking/
• http://www.creativitypost.com/create/ten_suggestions_for_raising_creative_kids